Punch Lines
by ulquiorrii
Summary: "You've accepted me for who I am. The only person you've never accepted is you." (That is not the punch line. Read on and find out!) DinoXOC


_Warning: Dino being a cheese ball._

_AN: I noticed that I tend to not name my OCs. It's always just a 'she.' I don't know, maybe it's just my way of making the story more impersonal, or however you put it. So, in a sense, I don't 'own' the character. I like to think that maybe my stories can be about anybody/somebody, and I thought naming the characters would somehow spoil that. _

_OR I don't know maybe I'm just too lazy to name the OC hihi. There's actually a much better explanation in my head and I just don't know how to lay it out nicely. _

_I honestly don't know what I'm saying. Reviewing would be nice!_

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Dino ducked as some disembodied furniture flew to his direction out of nowhere. He stared at her quizzically for a moment, brown eyes adorably bulging out of their sockets.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded.

She shrugged, and he cringed at her blank face. "Sometimes, I just have to check if you're real," she said.

"What?"

She continued staring at him. "What 'what?'"

"What the hell did you mean by that?"

"Oh, like, you know, sometimes I want to make sure I'm not just imagining you. You know, I think you should just say 'fuck' because 'hell' makes you sound like a kid, and will you please stop with that face?"

Dino smirked, finding this sort of abnormality abnormally not-so-normal with his girlfriend. Sometimes, it was amusing to play with her silly little games, but right now it was just plain weird.

"You wanted to make sure I'm real?" He still eyed her quizzically.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Like in court, they question the accused man about his motives for killing. You know that?"

He blinked at the off-hand analogy. "It doesn't even make sense at all. You're comparing me to a criminal?"

She thought for a moment, then gave him an annoyed look. "I wasn't. I was simply making sure that you're real. I told you that, right?"

"But you—" he started, then cut himself off abruptly and shook his head, smiling. "Alright, let us start from the very beginning. Why did you hit me?"

"I didn't hit you. I just—"

"Why did you throw the vase at me?"

She sighed, like she _was_ the one who's supposed to be annoyed. "I told you already, I was mak—"

"You were serious? You were making sure I was real?"

He found it amusing that she seemed to be the one exasperated here. "I was _kidding_. But yes, I was making sure you were real. Look, let's just cut the chase and get to the punch line, shall we?"

It was now Dino's turn to sigh. He didn't know which part of it all was a joke. Or maybe everything that had happened was all just one big joke. He didn't want to know.

He folded his arms and kept his composure. "OK, so let's hear the punch line and get this over with."

She mimicked his posture, her eyes tinged with seriousness.

"Why would you ever choose me as your girlfriend?"

He smirked and shook his head. How many times had they gone through this already? Is it her time of the month again? He smiled at her from across the room, mirroring the seriousness in her eyes.

"I don't even get why you fret over that."

Her expression was unchanging, but her gaze was directed to the same point which made him think that her mind must be someplace far away. "I don't know. It just bothers me," she mumbled.

He sighed, and then smiled sincerely at her. "Everything bothers you."

For a moment, he thought he saw in her eyes the same animosity she had for most people. But then it went away as fast as it came, and Dino was once again lost in her eyes.

"It's just a wonder how somebody could love someone like me," she fidgeted and struggled for the right words. "I mean, look at me."

He did. He wasn't sure if it was the eyes or the hair, but he knew something was different. "You cut your hair a few inches?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Not that, dummy. But thanks for noticing. I mean, how could you say that you love me when I can't even love myself?"

Ah, there you go. That was the punch line.

He sighed once again. It's always about her self-esteem—

"I don't have self-esteem problems, OK?"

He raised his eyebrow. Then what?

She averted her eyes. "I just thought that perhaps you deserve someone better."

"Oh wouldn't that be the same thing," he mumbled in response.

"I'm the most passive girlfriend ever. And I don't respond whenever you tell me you love me."

He nodded, considering what she just said.

"I don't care about your family or your subordinates, or virtually anybody else, and I'm selfish."

He nodded again. "Go on."

"I have a battered, fucked up childhood which had certainly affected me in ways you can never imagine. I'm practically a damaged good. I don't deserve to be with you—"

"Hey, stop it," he said quietly.

When she looked up, his expression was kind. He strode across the living room towards her.

"I didn't choose you to be my girlfriend because I deserved you. I chose you because I wanted you. It doesn't mean that you deserve me, or I deserve you or however you put it. To be honest, I sometimes think that you're the one who actually deserve someone better. Someone who'd keep you from thinking this way about yourself. Someone who'd give you more love and earn more of your trust."

"Don't get it wrong, I do trust you…"

"…but somehow I think that there's some part of you who thinks that I won't think of myself that way; who trusts me enough to have enough trust in _myself_, and I treasure that part of you. I treasure that part of you that still loves me despite of who I am, despite my flaws and everything I've ever been. You've accepted me for who I am. The only person you've never accepted is you."

He touched her cheek and gave her a soft peck on the lips. She looked up at him, smiling. He admitted there was still uncertainty in her eyes. He knew it wouldn't be that easy to convince her with words, but at least he managed to get his point across.

"Alright," he said, "now here's the punch line: why the hell would I spend five years with a lunatic if I didn't want her?"

She laughed, finding amusement in his choice of words. He chuckled as he leaned in closer and caressed her cheek. "But then again, if you still insist," he said, "then you don't have to love yourself, because that's supposed to be my job."

"Shut up," she said as she pushed him away, but somehow she couldn't fight off that smile on her lips.

"Oh, yeah, my bad." He flashed his goofy grin. "It's no work at all."


End file.
